Reds outfielder found dead after shooting

<p>Before Dernell Stenson played for the Cincinnati Reds, people in his hometown of LaGrange knew he would someday make it to the Show.</p><p>For them, it was easy to see why. The balls he hit for LaGrange High School would fly far beyond the 350-foot fences of high school stadiums. They would end up in puddles, in parking lots and on country roads. He was jacking balls out of parks even in Little League.</p><p>The 25-year-old major league rookie outfielders life was cut short Wednesday when he was found dead on a residential street in a Phoenix suburb, fatally shot after his SUV was stolen, Chandler, Ariz. police said Thursday.</p><p>People are stunned, said Donnie Branch, who coached Stenson in baseball until he graduated in 1996. In baseball, weve never had a better player. People in the country hadnt seen that yet and he was fixing to prove what he really could do.</p><p>And that was for a high school that once was blessed with the talented Mike Cameron, who now plays for the Seattle Mariners.</p><p>Mike was a real good high school player but he worked and worked and made it to the big leagues, Branch said. Dernell, he was always good. Hes the only kid Ive ever coached and said, That guy will make it to the big leagues.</p><p>A lot of it is luck and fortune but I said, That kid will make it one day.</p><p>In LaGrange, people are wondering how Stensons luck took a turn for the worst. Many only found out about the local legends death on Thursday morning, through cable television reports and grim chatter in tension-heavy halls. Family members, including his mother, Cora, still live in LaGrange.</p><p>Staff members at the high school were all in a state of shock, said school secretary Ellen Batchelor. Stenson was a hero for Branchs son, a 15-year-old freshman athlete.</p><p>Stenson _ who then pitched for the Grangers _ was well known for his 88- to 91 mph fastballs and had the most wins in the schools history. The 6-1, 220-pound high school player also was a defensive and offensive linesman for the football team.</p><p>He simply was someone others looked up to when they passed him in the halls.</p><p>He was someone every mother would want their child to be like _ a great student, a great athlete, a super young man, Batchelor said.</p><p>In Chandler, Ariz., police on Thursday arrested Kevin Riddle, a 43-year-old Indiana man on suspicion of auto theft. But no charges yet have been filed in connection with Stensons killing.</p><p>Police found Stensons body after receiving a call early Wednesday that shots had been fired. Witnesses told police a black SUV was seen leaving the area. About two hours later, Mesa, Ariz. police stopped the SUV and took Riddle into custody.</p><p>We extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to Dernells family and his friends, teammates and coaches, Reds spokesman Rob Butcher said.</p><p>Stenson was playing this month for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.</p><p>One of the Reds most promising young players, Stenson made his major league debut this season and played 37 games for the Reds. He hit .247 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, and his last homer accounted for Cincinnatis final run of the season.</p><p>It was unclear when the last time an active major league player was the victim of a homicide.</p><p>Atlanta pitcher Dave Shotkoski was shot to death during an apparent robbery in West Palm Beach, Fla., on March 24, 1995. Former big league shortstop Gus Polidor was shot to death in April 1995 in Venezuela shortly after being cut by Montreal in his comeback bid.</p><p>And California Angels star Lyman Bostock was killed by a shotgun blast in September 1978 in Gary, Ind., while riding in a car.</p>

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